Killer Mountain
by Traw
Summary: After Jane's murder, Steve and Danny's friendship and working relationship is stretched to breaking point. Will the cost of a last ditch effort by McGarrett to heal the rift be too high to pay? Set after the episode " Beautiful Screamer" in which Danny's girlfriend was brutally murdered. This story can be read as a stand alone story.
1. Chapter 1

Sgt Duke Lukela sat at his desk, the noise and activity of the busy precinct seeming to not disrupt his complete focus and concentration on the paperwork in front of him. Duke had just completed his report on the closure of the bank robbery he'd assisted Five-O with. While the case itself had been fairly elementary, the suspect's arrest had included unnecessary risk and the potential for injury if not death for all parties involved. Charles Russell and Steven Cho were wanna-bes. What they wished to be a part of was no longer important as they would both be spending many years in state lockup.

Re-reading the report, Duke again contemplated changing a few of the details surrounding the arrests. He'd been able to turn in more of a summary to his captain since the case belonged to Five-O but McGarrett was a stickler for detail and Duke knew that no matter what the reaction would be, he couldn't leave out the details that would indicate that Danny had unnecessarily put himself in danger to take down the suspects. The Hawaiian officer was worried about McGarrett's reaction when he read the report. Duke understood only too well what Dan was feeling and still trying to deal with but he doubted that McGarrett did. Steve tended to be uber focused on the job to the extent of shutting out life around him. That included his detectives, no matter how much he might care about them. Deciding it was time that McGarrett realized a few things, Duke left the report as it was and rose from his chair, intent on hand delivering the folder to the Palace.

O)O)O)O)O

Steve sat back in his chair and ran his hands over his face, closing his eyes for a brief moment. Frustration climbed up his spine, nesting in the muscles around his neck and shoulders. His second in command had nearly as short of a fuse as he himself did but lately, Steve was honestly worried about Danny. The younger detective seemed hell bent on storming head first into situations that could easily get him killed. It had gotten to the point where Steve no longer allowed Danny to go off by himself. No matter how simplistic the task seemed either Chin or Steve was with him and if neither could be, then McGarrett found details that Danny could investigate from the office or, on rare occasions, sent Duke with him. He'd hoped that whatever was bothering Williams would have either worked itself out or that Danny would be secure enough in their friendship to come and talk to him about it. But neither of that had happened and Steve was coming to the point where he feared he'd have to officially bench Williams.

The tipping point appeared to be sitting on his desk at the moment – Danny's report on the arrest of Russell and Cho with Duke. Danny had made no attempt to hide how close he had come to getting injured or even killed. Nor had he white washed the idea that the danger was something Danno himself had helped instigate. Williams had boxed McGarrett into a corner and left him with no other options but to ground him for the time being. Steve sighed again, knowing only too well how the news would be handled by his detective.

McGarrett sat up straighter behind his desk as he heard a slight knock on the Koa door that separated his office from the others. He watched as the door opened and Duke stepped into the room. He eyed the case file in the uniform officer's hands, mutely debating the odds that it was the companion report to the one on his desk. He considered the idea that Duke would leave out certain details so as to not portray Danny in a bad light.

"Here you go, Steve."

Duke placed the file next to the open folder on the desktop. Looking at the Five-O lead detective, Duke identified lines of stress and the expression of irritation on the face that was usually set in a professional mask to most of the world. Knowing the man as long as he did, Duke could see what few others would read correctly – McGarrett was at his breaking point. Deciding that going home to his family could wait just a bit longer, he used his knee to nudge the white chair further away from the front of the desk before turning around and lounging a bit more comfortably in it than most would dare. Danny routinely 'borrowed' the edge of the boss's desk to sit on but Duke wasn't as daring as the other man. Plus he had a feeling that the report once Steve read it would lead to a discussion that wasn't completely comfortable for either man. Duke knew several facts that the other man did not but he intended on changing that if necessary. Steve needed to be aware of what he'd missed before he made a too hasty decision.

Duke watched as McGarrett again studied the open file on his desk before picking up the report he'd just given him and quickly turning the pages, obviously looking for a specific page or details. He barely caught a small sigh as the boss found what he was looking for.

"Problem, Steve?"

McGarrett's head came up a little too abruptly. "No! Just…needed to make sure your story matched Danno's, that's all."

"Why wouldn't it?" For a brief minute, Duke wondered if Danny had fudged certain details in his report but he quickly dismissed the idea. Williams simply wasn't that kind of cop.

Steve ignored the question for a bit as he examined the two reports more closely. What he was looking for exactly – he wasn't sure. Was it confirmation of his suspicion? Or was it a way out – an escape from the decision he knew he had to make? Finally he picked up his favorite fountain pen, twisting it around his fingers as he thought of how to phrase what he wanted to say.

"Duke, have you noticed anything…odd…about Danno lately?"

The other man silently cheered at the opening he'd finally been given. "What do you mean by lately?"

"Oh not that long – maybe the last month or so."

Duke leaned forward a little in his chair. "Well Steve, considering what Danny's been through, I'm not surprised he's been off."

Duke noticed the puzzled look on Steve's face and swallowed his irritation. As good a cop as McGarrett was, he could be completely obtuse with noticing details about those close to him. That and his singular dedication were reasons why Duke was convinced the man would never marry.

Duke sighed before bringing his mind back to the subject at hand.

"I think Danny lost a lot more than just a girlfriend when Jane was killed." Duke was silent for several seconds as he thought about how much to tell and exactly what to suggest to McGarrett as a solution. Then he continued. "About a week ago, I needed to leave Danny a note on something I'd seen in a file. When I opened the middle drawer of his desk, I found more than just paper to write my note on, Steve."

McGarrett exhaled, his always-present, steel iron will deflating as he realized what Duke was hinting at. His mind's eye flashed back to the way Danno's face brightened at the mere mention of Jane's name. The evidence had been there but he hadn't wanted to see it, hadn't wanted to think that his second in command was deeply in love and planning on proposing marriage to the young woman.

"Steve!" Duke's voice cut in to his thoughts. "Steve, look, I've never faced what Danny's going through now and if I had lost Doris at this stage of our relationship in such a brutal way as Danny lost Jane, I can't say what I'd do. It might just be the same thing it looks like he's doing now. But I do know that you have to act and act soon before we lose Danny for real."

Duke rose from his seat before McGarrett could answer and headed for the door. He turned again before he pulled it open. "Oh and Steve, just remember that it isn't the boss who needs to act here, ok? It's Danny's friend."

The Hawaiian HPD officer was then gone before McGarrett could utter a word.

Steve remained in silent thought and stillness, eyes lowered, mind not registering a word on either report. A sudden blast of a car horn through the open lanai door jarred him, mind and body. The fog raced off and his sharp mind focused on a small paragraph that was virtually identical in both reports. His iconic Irish temper quickly grew from simmering to bubbling to boiling over as he read the brief narrative that described Williams blithely risking his life yet again. His chair flew back towards the wall and he jumped from his seat, barely pausing to loudly shove the chair towards his desk before he stormed from the office and down towards the waiting Mercury. His mind fixed on the idea that he'd read, seen and heard of enough of Danno's risky chances and that it was past time someone put a stop to his friend's suicidal behavior.


	2. Chapter 2

Sitting on his sofa, Danny stared at the glass and an as-yet-still-sealed bottle of scotch on the coffee table in front of him. His world had been catapulting through a variety of changes over the past months as his priorities seemed to be realigning themselves. But now the senseless murders by someone who he thought of as a friend had destroyed all his hopes and dreams for the future and had taken the light and warmth out of his world, his life, his heart.

"Danno?"

Steve's worried voice from close behind him startled him and he turned to find McGarrett closely watching him. "Steve? How? What are you doing here?" he stuttered in confusion.

"I knocked but you must not have heard me." Steve began quietly before he held up the key Danny had given him to the apartment as he eyed the bottle of scotch on the coffee table and admitted, "I was worried about you, aikane, so I let myself in."

"I'm fine…" Danny muttered as he turned back towards the coffee table and reached for the bottle of scotch.

"Sure you are." Steve sighed as he watched his Second - In - Command and closest friend open the bottle before pouring himself a drink. He resisted the urge to say something more as he watched as Danny lifted the glass to his lips and swallow its fiery contents in one large gulp.

"I'm fine!" Danny insisted as he set the glass back down onto the table and picked up the bottle of scotch again. "So if there's nothing else, Steve, I'm really not in the mood for company."

"You're not fine, Danno." Steve stated firmly as he reached for the glass before Danny had a chance to pour himself another drink, "You haven't been fine for weeks and I think we need to talk."

"There's nothing to talk about! I told you I'm fine…" Danny murmured as he looked away, unable to look his boss in the eyes.

"Nothing's wrong?" Steve growled, "Then tell me this, Danno, why is it that every time you go out of the office, even to make a simple arrest or to interview a suspect, you almost get yourself killed?"

The younger man shrugged but did not answer.

Drawing a deep breath to cool his temper, Steve tried again, "I read your report about the Cho and Russell arrests this afternoon and what I read, Danno, worried me. Want to tell me what happened and why?"

"It's all in my report." Danny shrugged, "There's nothing more to add."

"It's not what is in the report that I want to know about." Steve's voice rose in volume and intensity as he glared at his closest friend, "It's what the hell is going on with my Second-In-Command!"

"There's nothing going on, Steve," Danny answered flatly, "I'm fine and I was simply doing my job."

"By provoking two perps during a simple arrest and almost getting yourself killed? If Duke had not been backing you up…" Steve shouted before he voiced the very real fear that had been tearing at his heart. "And it's not the first time in the last few weeks you have placed yourself in unnecessary danger. Are you deliberately trying to get yourself killed? "

"I am just doing my job." Danny repeated slowly.

Frustrated and angry at Danno's attitude, McGarrett slammed the glass back onto the coffee table before he turned and stormed towards the door. He turned just as his hand twisted the knob to look back at his friend. "I know what I think, Danno. If you can't honestly say that isn't what you are trying to do, then the only thing left for me to do is to put you on the beach until you get your head screwed on straight. I'm not going to let you pull a suicide by perp here." Turning back towards the door, he stalked out of the apartment, slamming the door behind him so hard that the decorative pictures on the wall in the living room rattled.

Danny remained seated on the sofa, his face blank, void of all expression. His mind unable to truly process the words his boss had shouted. His heart constricted in pain at the thought of losing the only lifeline he had left to cling to, after having his future ripped so brutally away from him when Jane had been murdered.

)0)0)0)0)0)

Arriving back at the Palace, Steve stalked up the ornate koa stairs to Five-O's offices. Opening the door, he quickly crossed the anteroom, ignoring Jenny's attempts to hand him his phone messages as he stormed past her desk and entered into his office, slamming the door shut behind him, leaving Kono, Chin and Jenny staring at his closed office door. He needed to calm down and the only thing he knew to do that was to bury himself in his work. He grabbed a file to review the requisitions and approve them before grabbing another administrative file from the pile that Jenny had left for him to peruse and sign. He began the tedious task of working through paperwork, allowing himself to become totally engrossed in the tedium of the task. He didn't notice when the normal sounds of Jenny and his detectives working beyond his office stopped and the anteroom grew silent, nor did he notice the sun slip below the horizon until he was forced to switch on his desk lamp to continue reading and working on the reports in front of him.

Grabbing another folder from his shrinking 'to-do' box, he opened it and found another report prepared by Danny. He stopped, his pen hovering above the report. In his mind's eye, he saw and heard the confrontation he had had with the younger man in Danny's apartment only a few short hours before. As he remembered Dan's lack of reaction and response to his angered accusations, Duke's words about what Dan had lost echoed in his head. His heart pounded in his chest and he questioned whether or not he'd done the right thing by beaching his friend and he wondered if he'd misread the entire situation.

Springing up from his chair, he strode out of his office into the now silent and empty anteroom before he walked into Danny's small cubicle and switched on the overhead light. He eyed the too neat desktop with near disdain, it was just another sign of how unlike his normal self his friend currently was. Moving behind the desk, Steve reached down and yanked the center drawer open. On first glance he saw nothing unusual, but then as his fingers felt around inside, they reached a small box. Lifting the white cardboard box out of the drawer, Steve opened it and out slid a smaller, black velvet box. Heart constricting, he sank into the nearby chair, before shaky fingers opened the top. Confirming that it was a ring box and actually seeing the small, brilliant diamond solitaire inside caused Steve's chest to tighten with a combination of regret, guilt and sorrow.

How could he have missed the too obvious signs! Dropping the small item on the desktop, Steve used his knuckles for leverage, rising to his feet with determination and purpose. Like an ice cold shower, though, his progress stopped as he heard Duke's parting comment in his mind._ 'Steve, just remember that it isn't the boss who needs to act here, ok? It's Danny's friend.'_

He knew he needed to calm down and think of a plan, the last think Danno needed was his natural response of charging in and taking control. No, Duke was right, Danny didn't need his boss and mentor now, he needed his friend, no, he needed his kaikua'ana. Slowly he reached out and picked up the velvet ring box. After one last, long look, he gently placed it back into the protective box before he carefully returned it back into Danny's desk drawer.

Turning, he returned to his office where he quickly shut the lanai doors and closed up his desk for the night. He grabbed a small pad of paper and hastily scribbled a barely readable note to Jenny and placed it on the stack of folders, confident she'd figure out both the instructions and his message. Grabbing his car keys, he patted his pocket to check that his wallet was there as he headed again for the outer office. He wasn't sure of his plan of yet but figured that if he took the long way to his friend's apartment and stopped to grab dinner along the way, he'd have more than enough time to come up with a solid plan of action. Now that he knew the reason behind Danny's reckless, almost suicidal behavior, he wasn't going to let Danno down.

The young detective had been there for him when his nephew had tragically died and now it was his turn to be there for Danny when Danny needed him the most.


	3. Chapter 3

McGarrett had parked the Mercury and was heading towards their favorite BBQ carry out place when he turned his head and spotted the newly opened store that specialized in camping and hiking gear. Inspiration struck like lightning and he switched directions, hurrying across the road before entering the shop.

Several minutes later, arms laden with bags, he exited through the same door that a very happy shopkeeper obligingly held. He'd taken the man's advice and purchased all of the items he had recommended. The obliging businessman had even allowed McGarrett to use the store phone to book flight reservations for himself and Danny, although Steve was pretty sure that was more due to his badge than just the amount of money he'd just spent. Now he just had to fit them all into the Mercury, get dinner and then convince Danno that the boss wasn't completely out of his mind. Under normal circumstances, it wouldn't have been an easy thing to do given the mood swings, McGarrett had experienced over the last couple of hours. With Danno acting the way he was, it promised to be an almost impossible feat.

O)O)O)O)O

Uncertain of Danny's reaction after what had occurred just a few short hours ago, Steve raised his hand and knocked on the younger man's apartment door. Hearing no movement within, he resisted the urge to use the key again to allow himself him, and knocked a little harder. His persistence was rewarded a minute later when he heard footsteps and the apartment door opened. "Truce, Aikane." He softly said as he held up his hands in mock surrender, "Please, I just want to talk."

Danny nodded silently and stepped aside, allowing Steve to enter before he closed the door and walked out towards the lanai, with Steve slowly trailing after him. As they passed the coffee table, Steve was relieved to see that the bottle of scotch had not been touched since he had left earlier. He paused as he reached the lanai door and watched as Danny slumped down onto one of the chairs, still uncertain of just what he was going to say. Needing a few more moments to decide just how he was going to approach his closest friend, he asked. "Do you mind if I get us both a drink of orange juice before we talk?"

Again his only reply was a shrug. He sighed as he turned and entered the small kitchen. He was no longer confident that his idea was going to work or even be considered by the brooding young man out on the lanai. He opened the cupboard and took out two glasses placing them onto the counter before he opened the fridge to take out the orange juice. He stopped in surprise as he stared at the bare contents within. The fridge contained just the open carton of juice, two eggs, a jar of mayonnaise and some no longer identifiable type of sliced meat.

Removing the juice, Steve quickly checked the expiry date before he poured it into the glasses and returned it back to the empty fridge. Any doubts he may have had about his plans were vanquished as he picked up the two glasses of juice and walked out to the lanai.

Handing Danno the cold glass of juice, Steve settled down on the other chair and sat sipping the sweet beverage as he covertly watched Danny stare out of the stars that shone and flickered in the velvet colored night sky. He doubted whether his young friend was really seeing the beauty of the stars and the soft yellow glow full moon as it slowly made its appearance above the horizon. The young man had slowly become more withdrawn, quieter over the last few months but more terrifying than seeing his closest friend slowly pull away from him were the dangerous, foolhardy risks Danny had begun to take. Risks that had perpetuated an earlier outburst that Steve now regretted.

He sighed, uncertain of how to raise the subject as he watched Danny stare unseeingly out at the darkness. The distance between them although physically no more than two feet suddenly felt to McGarrett like one hundred miles and widening. He knew he had to do this to try and draw Danny back."We both have the next few days off," he began tentatively, "I was wondering if you have anything planned?"

Danny shrugged but did not answer, his gaze never leaving the sky.

Unwilling to allow his friend's silence to dissuade him from continuing, Steve continued, "I was thinking why we don't get away for a few days, maybe do some hiking. It's been a rough couple of months, Aikane. I think both of us could use some time out to unwind, relax a little. I heard that Mauna Loa could offer us some challenges."

Danny remained silent but by the slight tilt of Danno's head in his direction Steve was aware that he was listening. Encouraged, the dark haired detective continued. "I checked the weather reports, there is a storm front moving in but won't reach the Big Island until early next week so it shouldn't interfere with our hike."

"Could take us two or three days to complete the hike." Danny stated quietly. "Are you sure that we can be gone that long?"

Steve smiled, "Kono is on call this weekend, both Chin and Duke are available in case he needs them. I don't think that Hawaii's crime rate will soar if we aren't around for a few days."

"This just a way to make sure I'm completely 'on the beach'?" Danny asked softly, the hurt he felt about being 'beached' earlier that day by Steve evident in his voice.

McGarrett winced. He should have known that Danny would mention his previous visit, but he honestly hadn't thought the other man had been listening to him that closely. Or was it more that he had hoped that Danny hadn't been?

"I might have been a little out of line and worked up earlier, Danno."

Eyeing his boss suspiciously, Danny added, "We will need our hiking gear, supplies…"

"Already done, Aikane, I was hoping that you would decide to come so I grabbed all the gear we would need earlier this afternoon from the camping shop. All you need to do is pack your camping boots, some warm clothes and your sleeping bag." Steve grinned, "All I have left to do is confirm our plane tickets. I have us booked on the 8am flight."

"Why do I feel like I am being set up?" Dan muttered, shaking his head before he looked across at his closest friend and quietly admitted, "But you are right Steve, it could be good to get away from everything for a while."


End file.
